After Work
by lilau
Summary: Having been married for years, Elena is a happy mother of three. Between work, raising her kids and an overworking distant husband, she has not time to think about herself and how boring her life has become. That is until enters Damon Salvatore. AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all.**

 **This is one of my first story published so I hope you'll like it. As you know the characters are not mine (obviously) but the story is. English is not my main language so I apologize beforehand for any mistake.**

 **Enjoy.**

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The light was shining through the big window walls surrounding the entrance hall of one of the oldest building in town. Built in the 1860's, it was five floors high. Big windows, an architectural prodigy at the time, were letting the warm sun flow into the imposing entrance hall. Walls were covered with dark wooden panels. On the left side, dark red comfortable sofas were arranged in a square around a small acajou table to be used by awaiting visitors. At this time of the hour, the only human face in this place was an old man sitting behind a wooden desk on the right. Typing on a big old grey computer coming out straight from the mid nineties, he was fitting perfectly the image of the calm out of time atmosphere with the several wrinkles on his tan face and his silver white bear that was reaching the bottom of his neck.

Any visitors that were entering through the imposing old wooden door were immediately filled with a sense of warmth. And that was one of the main reasons why Elijah Mikaelson had chosen this building when he had wanted to create the Family Law branch of his family law company: Mikaelson & Partners'. Clients that were coming here were usually dealing with difficult times: hard divorce, complicated inheritance issue, child protection, etc. He had wanting to let them feel at home during the hard time they were going through. This and the fact that it was located in one of the most prestigious part of town: the old city centre.

The quietness of the place was suddenly broken when a hurried small figure slipped through the entrance door and almost run to the elevator on the other side addressing a quick hello with a wave of her hands to the receptionist. Smiling, the old man shook slowly his head. Elena Gilbert was late again for her morning meeting.

He watched her as she stood in front of the elevator waiting for its arrival. Out of all the lawyers working in that building, Elena was his favourite. She had always kind words to say to him, when she was not late that is to say! She often asked about his health, his family. She had supported him when he had lost his wife a few years back. If he had been blessed with a daughter instead of three boys, he would have wanted for her to be like Elena: a kind well raised beautiful woman. Too bad she was not fully appreciated for her worth both at work and in her personal life.

When the doors opened, she quickly made her ways into the elevator and pushed the button for the fourth floor where the conference rooms were. As she waited in the small cubicle, she left her thoughts drifted her back to her hectic morning. She had almost been able to leave early on this particular day, almost. When she had woken up, her husband had already been gone to work and she had been left alone to prepare their kids for school. She had successfully managed to wake them up in record time and they had been ready and stuffed with food with ten minutes to spare. That was until the twins had decided to fight over who would be wearing the pink coat and chaos had ensued. Soon enough the vase that had been on the console table by the entrance door had fallen broken on the floor spilling water and flowers everywhere on the white tiles. To make it worse, the door had soon opened and she had been greeted by the reproaching glare of her mother in law.

She could swear this woman hated her guts. Her husband often said it was in her mind, that his mother loved her like she was her own daughter. But Elena knew otherwise. The old woman might love her son and her grandchildren, but she did not like her daughter in law. She was constantly judging her. This woman had stopped working to raise her two sons and she kept reminding Elena how much of a failure she was as a mother and a spouse for having kept working after the birth of her eldest and then again after the twins. But the worst of all was that Elena needed this woman to help her. She was the one to drop her kids at school and to pick them up. She was the one that helped them with their homework teaching Luke how to read properly and teaching Emma and Maya how to draw without crossing the lines. The kids loved their grandmother and Elena had to swallow her pride and fake her smile.

The doors finally opened and Elena stepped into the corridor to be greeted by the anxious smile of Bonnie Bennett, her overly loyal assistant. Open seeing her boss, the young woman exhaled a sigh of relief. She had been waiting by the elevator waiting for Elena for the past thirty minutes. She had seen the lawyers rushing in and out without a glance in her direction.

"Good morning, sorry I'm late" Elena cut in before Bonnie could talk.

"You're fine" Bonnie answered with a smile. "The meeting had been postponed for twenty minutes because Elijah wanted a pre-meeting with the client first. You have five minutes to spare."

Elena's face softened upon hearing her assistant words. Hopefully, the God of overworking mums had been on her side this morning.

"Care to walk with me to the conference room. You'll brief me on the way."

Bonnie nodded and the two women walked away from the elevator along the creamy white corridor.

Elena tilted her hand towards her assistant and listened carefully. She had only received a text the evening before from her boss saying that she was needed at eight am in the small conference room for an upcoming important case. Needless to say that she was curious about this new important case that required her immediate attention. Knowing she would not be able to be at the office before eight, she had texted back Bonnie asking her to be there at seven to investigate the matter before her arrival.

"Well", Bonnie started, "you remembered the death of this big movie star Mason Lockwood?"

Elena nodded. It had been in the news all over the country a couple of months ago. This rising actor was on his way to win an Oscar with his latest movie when a common skiing accident had cut short his career and let a million of desperate fan girls pining after their lost idol.

"When he died he was about to marry his long time girlfriend, Meredith Fell. Nobody knew but at the time of the accident she was a few weeks pregnant. She gave birth to a healthy son two months ago named Logan Mason."

Elena was attached to her assistant's words. It looked like juicy gossip but she was a little bit disoriented. What did it have to do with their small lawyer firm?

Bonnie, upon seeing the confused look on Elena, decided to switch to the matter at hand.

"That is where we are coming in. Meredith Fell's father, Logan Fell, is the CEO of the Fell conglomerate."

"Oh" was the only answer of Elena. This was big news. Of course Elena knew about the Fell conglomerate. They were the biggest client of the Mikaelson & Partners' business branch.

"Meredith Fell is coming to us because she is fighting against Mason Lockwood's parents Richard and Carol for the custody of her son. The Lockwoods have taken a lawyer to ask for the custody of their grandchild."

"Ok so this morning meeting is to talk about the case?" Elena asked

"Yes and No." Was Bonnie answer. "This is a meeting with Meredith and her father to officially hire our firm and to choose their lawyer."

Elena gulped. This was indeed very huge. If she had been asked to come it meant that she was on the short list to become Meredith Fell's lawyer. It was the big case she had always dreamt of for herself: the big opportunity to become a partner. No pressure at all!

The two girls had reached the conference room and they had been standing in front of the closed door for the last minute. It was time for Elena to enter to avoid being really late. She turned towards her assistant.

"Thank you very much for your hard work. I'm very happy grateful for what you have done for me. And of course you're dismissed at four seeing as you were here so early." Elena winked with a smile to her assistant. Bonnie smiled back to her boss.

"Thank you."

Elena was a good boss and Bonnie knew that some of the other assistants were jealous of her because of that. Their relationship was more on a friendly base than of boss and subordinate and she was glad that Elena had hired her a few years ago.

Now it was time for Elena to enter the room so Bonnie handed her thick yellow folder and a cup of dark medium size coffee without sugar, Elena's favourite. In exchange, Elena gave to Bonnie her light red jacket and her dark blue leathered computer bag. Entering only in her light grey trouser suit with the case folder on her left arm and a coffee in her right hand, she would look like she had been in the building for hours. And this was exactly what she was aiming for.

"Thank you, see you in one hour." She gestured a little goodbye wave with the hand before reaching for the handle to open the door. Bonnie's eyes opened widely on the retreating back of her boss. By the time she registered what had happened Elena had entered the room and closed the door behind her. Bonnie's cry died in her throat. There was the mark of a small hand made with what look like strawberry jam in the middle of Elena's lower back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for having read and like my story. It made my day.  
Here is the second chapter.  
And as you know the characters are not mine but the story is.  
Enjoy !**

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When Elena entered, the conference room was very quiet. Elijah and his new customers had not yet arrived and there were only two other fellow lawyers, their back to the door. They were sitting close to one other on the small section of the L shape arranged dark tables. Their heads were low as they were both typing on their Smartphone. She recognised Andrew Spane from his short dirty blonde hair and his slightly too large suit on his small frame. On his left, she spotted the slim form of Katherine Pierce dressed in her trademark very tight red suit and creamy white blouse.

Andrew Spane was a nice albeit a little shy man. Elena often heard the assistants gossiping over him with his shining green eyes and gentlemanlike attitude. He had joined the firm recently having moved from another state. On the few occasions Elena had worked with him, she had enjoyed her time. Andrew Spane scarcely talked but it was always insightful and well pondered.

On the other hand, Katherine Pierce had always been the bane of her existence. They had been hired almost at the same time a couple of years ago. Since then, the two women have been competing on every project with the objective of becoming one day a Partner. Sometimes Elena wondered if Elijah was not encouraging this competition by turning a blind eye to their behaviour.

It did not help that the two women shared an uncanny resemblance. They were both brunette with chocolate brown eyes and a medium height. Some of the clients were even mistaking them for sisters. But the resemblance stopped there. Personality wise they were polar opposite like the plus and the minus of the same magnet.

Elena was the quiet discreet type whereas Katherine was the flirtatious obnoxious centre of the universe type. To say that they liked each other would be a complete misunderstanding. Most of the time, they were just ignoring the other but in some cases like this morning they had to play their part and be civil to one other.

Deep down Elena knew that Katherine despised her and the feeling was mutual. Katherine represented everything she did not want to be: selfish, lonely and heartless.

Elena made her way to the seat at Katherine's right with a "good morning" to her colleagues that only Andrew reciprocated.

She set down her coffee and folder on the table but the pen she was holding bounced back on the table and landed on the floor. Sighing Elena pushed back the chair and bent down to recover her blue pen that had made its way to the other side of the table. A little bit more and she would have had to crawl under it. Hopefully, she managed to grab it easily. She slowly stood up and proceeded to put the pen on the table next to her notebook. When she raised her eyes, Katherine was smirking at her. Elena frown wondering what was happening but decided against asking. Katherine was just being a pain as usual.

Elena sat down next to her and the two women resumed their ignoring each other act.

However, they did not have to wait long. Soon the handle of the door on the other side of the room was pushed down and the three lawyers stood to greet their boss.

Elijah opened the door but moved to the side to let a young woman and an older man enter first. Elena stared at the woman she supposed to be Meredith Fell and was surprised by how young she looked like. She was expecting a woman in her mid-thirties but the beautiful dark haired woman that stood in front of her must have been hardly thirty.

She was dressed with a cotton black dress that reached her knees and covered her shoulder up until the middle of her arms with a white Peter Pan collar. It was classy but screaming money. She had dark rings under her bright black eyes that her make-up was concealing with difficulties. She was walking with a noble poise, her back completely straight and her feet barely touching the floor. She looked like she was floating.

Elena understood instantly why this woman had been the headline for years of mode magazines. When she entered a room she was attracting the attention of all the people. Men could not resist her and women could not help their envy. She was truly the heir of a rich businessman that had been born into luxury and worriless world. She almost completely overtook the two men that followed her into the conference room.

Elena noticed that Elijah was still his usual self, a confident, good looking dark blond man in his constant dark grey suit and blue tie.

But what really intrigued Elena was the third person. Logan Fell was the head of the Fell conglomerate and he was the richest men of the city, even maybe of the country. He had inherited a small shoe factory from his father when he was twenty five and ten years after he had turned it into a worldwide company. They were still making shoes but they had expanded towards clothes, accessories and home furniture. Now at the age of fifty, he was trying to enter the very selective world of top fashion by launching his first luxury brand.

Elena was surprised at how normal he looked like. Of course, his clothes were sending the "I'm filthy rich" vibe. But his face was kind and his grey and white hair was giving him a sexy look. Hell, she was finding him attractive!

Elijah closed the door behind him and mentioned for his two guests to sit down. Being in the small conference room, there were not many chairs and Meredith sat on Elena's left with her father on her right and Elijah to the end.

"Well, I suppose you all know why I called you here." Elijah's voice was calm but authoritative. The lawyers nodded and Elena silently thanked Bonnie for her thorough early work.

Elijah smiled at seeing the dedication on his employees' face. He knew that he could count on them. He took pride in his abilities in finding the best among the best. Once he had chosen someone he rarely failed.

"Today, we will decide which one of you will represent Mrs Fell and her son." He kept on.

"Actually, Mrs Fell will choose one of you." He finished looking at the woman with a kind smiling face.

"I have already discussed this morning the particular of the case with Mrs Fell and her father. The one that will be in charge of the case will have freedom to go in the direction they want but always in respect to our client best interest. Mrs Fell is our most important client and I want you to gain her respect and her trust. The sooner you disappoint her, the sooner you lose the case. This is matter of truly importance and as much as I know your worth, I want complete success from you. Of course the one that will be in charge will be removed from all his other cases that will be dispatched to the other two."

Andrew and Katherine were completely under Elijah's spell looking at anything else but him. Elena, on the contrary, was more interesting into checking Meredith Fell and her father reaction to the whole ordeal. The two have followed Elijah with a serious expression, but when Meredith had smiled a little along the way, Logan Fell had been nodding in parts and had straighten himself to look more menacing she presumed. At one point, he had looked at her and had raised his eyebrow questioning but she had nodded and offered him a kind smile than he slowly returned.

Elijah mentioned to his three employees to sit down but before Elena could do it, he turned towards her.

"Elena my dear, before taking your seat, can you turn on the light it is rather dark in the room?" He asked with her usual kind voice.

She nodded. "Of course."

She went back to the door from which she entered the room and immediately the light erupted in the room casting a more animated atmosphere to their meeting.

When she came back to her place, Meredith Fell was looking at her with a strange expression on her face.

"Do you have kids?" She asked with soft slow voice.

The question came a little out of nowhere and Elena felt her mouth dropped in surprise. However she recovered quickly and after a quick pondering, she decided to go with the truth.

"Yes." She answered

"How many?" Meredith inquired further with a small encouragement of her head.

Elena was surprised by how nice Meredith's voice was. She was talking with a soothing tone articulating each word.

"One boy and two girls."

Meredith nodded. "I thought so" she said with a small smile showing up on her face.

"You have the mark of a hand on your back." She added with a quiet laughter.

Elena's eyes opened in horror and she heard Katherine chuckled on her other side. That was why the devilish bitch was so smug before. She had seen it when she bent to recover that damn pen.

Elena slowly turned her head, her hand lifting the back on her vest to give her a better view. Sure enough, she could spot right away the small handprint done with jam. It must have been Emma as she was the only one to eat jam in the morning.

Well now, she knew where to stand with the case. There was no way she would be appointed to it anymore. She had already failed without even starting.

At that moment, she just wanted for the Earth to swallow her.

"And you, do you have children?" Meredith asked the same question to Katherine interrupting Elena's self-consciousness.

"Oh no! Hopefully! I prefer staying concentrated 100% on my job. I don't want to lack commitment." The devil answered with a confident smile.

Elena groaned internally. Trust Katherine to take every opportunity to belittle her.

Meredith just stayed quiet with an undecipherable look on her face.

"And you?" She asked also to Andrew.

He looked a little like an animal trapped at night in the light of the car but answer back nonetheless.

"No, maybe one day." He answered quietly.

Elijah coughed a little bringing everybody attention back to him.

"Let me present my team and then we will fix some meeting with each one of them so you get to know them and decide who you want as your lawyer."

"I will start with the ladies."

He gestured to Elena.

"On your right, let me introduce you Elena Gilbert. She has been working for our office for seven years now. She is a pure Mikaelson's Lawyer having done her internship with us and being offered a job here afterwards. She has a 92% success in her cases. Most of them are settled and won out of court."

Meredith looked at her with a kind face and Elena felt her face blushing under her gaze. Logan Fell's face brightened with the "out of court" comments. It screamed discretion and Elena knew it was a strong bonus for him. Maybe she could still be in the competition if she played her cards well.

"Then you have Katherine Pierce. She came to work with us six years ago after her internship in the Flemming Practice. She has a 97% success most of the time in court."

Logan was listening intently and Elena knew that the better record of her nemesis was a key point. Katherine had a lot of defaults but she was a real shark in court and Elena knew better than to underestimate her. Some of the male lawyers in other offices had done that mistake once they noticed the sexy young woman as their opponents. They were still trying to recover from their heavy defeat.

"Finally, here is Andrew Spane our newest employee. He came last year from Chicago and is already a valuable asset for our firm. He had only managed a few cases with us but had won them all."

Elena was not leaving her boss' face while he was presenting her two colleagues but she could see Meredith's nod from the corner of her eyes. Her face was blank not showing any passing emotions and Elena could feel her nerves gathering in her stomach.

"I will let you have a meeting with each one of them this morning. I suggest following the same order as the presentation and then we will discuss at lunch time. My assistant already booked a table for the three of us at La nuit étoilée. Of course if you have any questions, I will answer them with pleasure." Elijah finished with a smile.

There was a slight silence while everybody waited for the Fells to talk. Finally Meredith took the lead.

"Thank you Elijah. I do not think that the meetings will be necessary." She said with her now usual soft voice.

Elijah opened his eyes in surprise but did not say anything.

"I have already made my choice." She finished assertively.

Logan Fell looked at her as if she was crazy which was not far from what Elena was thinking.

How could she have already chosen when she did not even talk seriously with one of them?

Logan Fell was about to argue back when a giggle coming from the corridor broke the silence. Suddenly there was a knock on the door and all eyes turned to see the flushed red haired middle aged assistant of Elijah entering the conference room.

"Sorry to disturb you but the lawyer from the business branch is here."

Elijah looked at her with a knowing smile.

"Thank you Amanda. Let him in. We were waiting for him."

Amanda gave way to her companion, not without checking him out one last time and she closed the door after him.

The first thing that Elena saw was the dark messy hair and the intense blue eyes as the man entered. And she internally groaned.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for having read my story and for the feedback.  
It took me a little more but here is the third chapter.  
This one is a little be longer because I would like to finish with the settling and go to real business :D  
And as you know the characters are not mine but the story is.  
Enjoy !**

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"Sorry, I'm late."

The man that entered the office was in his thirties with messy jet black hair with some hint of white on his temples.

"Damon Salvatore, the man I wanted to see!" Elena jumped in surprise at the loud warm voice of Logan Fell.

The man had kept a straight serious face since he had entered the conference room but now he had dropped the serious facade and he stood up to welcome the newcomer with a clasp around his shoulders.

Damon Salvatore just smiled politely and returned the warm hand shake showing his pleasure at being there without the Fell's enthusiasm.

Elena studied her almost colleague. Damon Salvatore worked for the same company but she was not used into seeing in the flesh in her office. The Business branch had been the first office created by Elijah's father thirty years ago. When Elijah and his brother had took over the family business they had decided to split it. Klaus Mikaelson had taken over the head of the old office and Elijah had used their fame and money to extend the firm into Family Law by creating the branch where Elena was now working.

Elijah stood up as well and walked towards Damon extended his hand for him. Damon took his cue and shook the hand of his boss' brother.

"You are perfectly on time. I did not introduce your role yet." Elijah said with a kind voice.

Damon nodded.

"Come and sit down. The meeting is almost over." Elijah gestured for him to follow his lead and the three men walked from the door back to their chair. Damon took the seat on the other side of Elijah.

"Well. Where were we?" Elijah said slowly looking back at the other persons in the room.

"I was saying that I will not need to have the three meetings. I already decided who I want as my lawyer." Meredith said with strong assertive voice and Elena could almost feel a pout hidden being her words.

"This is bullshit!" Logan Fell exclaimed "You can't reasonably decide within thirty minutes of knowing the people."

"I know who I want!"

Meredith was very adamant and she looked at her father with a strong glare.

Elijah coughed to diffuse the tension that had suddenly fallen into the room.

All eyes turned to him.

"We can let Meredith explained her reasons and then we can decide."

Meredith sent him a look of approval and resumed her talking.

"I know I'm not the best judge of characters."

Her father scoffed but she ignored him.

"But I know what I want. And I want Elena as my lawyer."

Katherine gasped, Elena's eyes popped out of their sockets but Elijah just smiled.

"We are here because some people want to take my son from me. I need to be sure that the person that will help me in keeping him understand what is at stake. Elena is the only one that has children of her own. She understands perfectly the feeling. I'm sure she will do everything to ensure that my son is not taken away from me."

Meredith's words were strong and it struck a chord into Elena's core. Of course, she would do everything. She could not imagine her children being taken away from her. This would kill her instantly.

"Ok well. I think Meredith has a valid point. Does anyone object?" Elijah turned his head towards Logan Fell but the man remained silent. "Then I think it is settled. Elena will be the lawyer on this case."

Elena could feel the rage on her right coming from Katherine and directed towards her. This was not going as the woman had wanted. She kept her head down until she felt a hand on her arm. When she raised her eyes Meredith was looking at her with a kind smile. She turned her head and she spotted the same expression on her boss. Even Damon was looking at her with something that resembled appreciation.

"Back to the topic." Elijah took lead of the meeting once again. "I have called Damon Salvatore here for a specific reason. As you know, he is part of the Business branch. But he is also the main lawyer of the Fell conglomerate. As such, he will be involved in the case. Meredith's son is the sole heir to the company and this fight will also resolve around his grandfather's company. In this office, we are well acquainted with Family Law but we are going to need help to understand the Business part of it. This is why I have asked Damon to come to offer his knowledge and to act as an advisor which he has gladly accepted to do."

At this point Elijah turned his head towards Elena.

"Elena, I hope you and Damon will be able to work together as a team. You will need all the help you could get and Damon is very good as what he is doing."

She nodded with a gulp. As much as she was ecstatic at being the chosen lawyer, she was not overly happy at working with Damon. She preferred working alone and decided by herself what she could or not hand down to someone else. She did not know how this Damon was working. Hell! He might even steal her case. But she had no say in the matters and she would have to swallow her pride and acknowledge his looming presence.

"I think the meeting is over. I will let you four go back to Elena's office to discuss the matter and I will see you at lunch time." Elijah concluded.

Logan Fell stood up and Meredith and Elena took it as their cue to follow. However Elijah was not finished.

"Katherine and Andrew, I assume that you will help Elena in clearing her workload of all her big files."

Katherine shot him an angry glare but did not say anything. Andrew just nodded.

They were about to leave the conference room when Elijah called after Elena.

She turned around and he mentioned for her to come over him.

"Elena, I need to talk to you a minute." He said with a serious tone.

"Ok", Elena nodded, "but I need to go back to my office with..."

"I will show them". Katherine cut in quickly with a smile.

Elijah nodded relieved and Elena frowned wondering what she was up to.

Katherine immediately positioned herself close to Damon. Posing her right hand on his left shoulder she slightly bent over showing more of her cleavage before murmuring in a sultry voice.

"Follow me, I will show you around."

Elena rolled her eyes at Katherine obvious flirting and turned back her attention to her boss.

Elijah waited for the group to leave the conference room before acknowledging Elena's presence.

"I am not surprise. I expected for Meredith to choose you."

Elena raised her eyebrow in a mocking gesture and Elijah laughed good-naturally. He raised his right hand close to his head, the palm facing Elena.

"I swear! I am not saying that I was not surprised by how quickly she decided to take you as her lawyer. I am just saying that I knew that at the end she would have chosen you."

Elena gulped.

"How did you know?" she asked with a small voice.

"Because I chose you." He replied simply.

She looked at him confusion written all over her face.

Elijah sighed.

"Listen, Elena. This case is very delicate. We are talking about a few month old baby and two rich and powerful families. This requires as much discretion as possible. I wanted to propose your work as soon as Klaus redirected the Fells to me. But I know men like Logan Fell. They like control and the power it gives them. That is why I proposed him three lawyers to choose from. That is why I let Damon be involved in the case. But I knew that you were the most qualified for this. You are well dedicated and you know how to handle sensitive topics as well as keeping discretion to a maximum."

Elena felt the blush crept slowly to her face at her boss' appraisal of her work.

"And you have a motherly touch." He added with a wink and she let a laugh escaped her lips.

She really liked her boss. Elijah was very strict but always kind and fair. The first time she had meet him was during her internship. He had just created the branch and when after a year he had proposed her a full-time job she had said yes right away. Since then, she had never regretted that choice. It had been tough at the beginning without many cases to work with and a reputation to build. But it had been worth it. She had learned so much and was still learning.

They had turned the small unknown office into the second best Family firm in Mystic Fall in a couple of years and she was very proud of the achievement. She knew that he had also been due to the Mikaelson name but it did not undermine her sense of self confidence of having been a part of this success.

Elijah finally dismissed her and she took back the elevator to go down to her office.

The second floor where Elena had her office was organised as a big square with windows on three sides, the elevator being on the windowless side. Three private offices were on the right side. The one closest to the elevator was an open office when they were having external lawyers, mostly from the business branch. Andrew's office was the second one and the third one was taken by the last lawyer of the bunch, Marina Gonzales. Elena's office was on the side facing the elevator, in the middle, Katherine on her right and Elena's lawyer trainee, April Young on her left. The rest of the space was taken by the open space filled with the four assistants' desks, the waiting area and the printing machine.

Bonnie's desk was close enough to Elena and April's offices seeing that she was their assistant. She was sitting in front of Katherine's assistant, a handsome young man called Mark. Katherine liked to take them young. And above all, she liked to take them short time. Like the others before him, Mark was a law student at the Mystic Fall University School of Law. Katherine usually hired good looking law male students and once they finished their studies she would take another one. They needed the money, she needed the help. Office talks were to say that she used them as well for some more "private" work. But Elena did not like listening to office talks even if she would not put it past Katherine Pierce to behave that way.

Elena spotted Bonnie right away as she was standing close to her office door beaming at her like an idiot.

"Damon Salvatore is in your office." She whispered while clapping her hands together excitedly once Elena arrived at a level.

If she thought her assistant was happy for her wining the case, she was quickly disillusioned. Bonnie was clearly thrilled by the presence of Damon in the building. However, her assistant was not the only one beaming as she could hear the excited whisper all around her. It was just a painful reminder at how much the office liked gossip.

She refrained at rolling her eyes for the second time in a couple of minutes and just sighed.

"Do you have something for me?" she asked her assistant seeing as she had been standing guard in front of her office.

Bonnie shook her hand and she just patted Elena's shoulder with her non-ending smile before returning to sit at her desk.

Elena took a deep breath, turned the handle and opened the door to her office. There she was met by the sight of the two Fells seated in her office guest chair and Damon Salvatore passing behind them. She coughed and her three guests turned their heads toward her. She entered her office and closed the door behind her.

Elena caught Damon's eyes and she suddenly felt every emotion he was feeling. His face was a mix between surprise, happiness and apprehension. When the knot in her stomach tightened, she understood that she was feeling the same.

Meredith was looking at the two lawyers with a smirk. She might be a spoilt rich girl but she was not born yesterday. There was something going on.

"You two know each other?" she asked them innocently.

Elena's head turned quickly towards her client and her eyes opened wide like a deer caught in headlights. Damon recovered quicker.

"We studied both in Mystic Fall University School of Law. In my last year I was her tutor, helping her go through her first year." He said with a slow voice never leaving Elena out of his sight.

Elena nodded barely holding the sigh that finally escaped her lips almost inaudibly.

Meredith looked at the two of them. She could sense that there was something more but decided against prying more.

She wanted Elena as her lawyer and she needed her to be in her father good books. She would have time later to discover what it was.

"Well good. At least you're not strangers forced to work together." Logan Fell interrupted with a grave voice. "Can we go on with the case? My time is precious and I do not want to lose it for mundane thing."

Elena quickly walked towards her desk and sat on her chair. She took the thick light grey folder that Elijah had given her after their talk and set it down on her black leather desk blotter.

"I am new to the case so I will need a little time to read through all the paperwork but we can have a quick talk about what you want from me and how you would like to handle the matters." She said with a kind smile. If there was something she was good at it was to make her clients at ease and to listen to their desire and fears.

Meredith was about to answer when her father cut her.

"I want as much discretion as possible. I want this matter to be resolve quickly in our way. I want full custody of my grandson and I want the Lockwood to fail." he said with a strong powerful voice.

Elena could understand how he had managed to bring his company so high. He was reeking power. He was not a man to be made a fool of. But she could sense also the care for his family that was hiding behind each word. Ultimately Logan Fell wanted what was best for his family.

Elena looked at Meredith.

"And what do you want?" she said with a kind voice

Meredith looked at Elena with a hoping face.

"I want to keep my son with me" her eyes were moistening with unshared tears and her voice was breaking.

Elena reached for Meredith's hand that was down on her desk and she squeezed in a tender gesture.

"We will make sure of that." she said nicely.

Meredith nodded slowly.

Damon was looking at them with a kind smile on his face.

There was a knock on her door and the awkwardness that had settled in the room was broken immediately. Elena raised her head to see Bonnie coming in with a tray full of cups and a coffee pot.

"I thought you would need some refreshments." She said with a smile.

She processed to fill them four cups and to set them down on Elena's desk. Elena cringed internally when she saw how her assistant was eyeing Damon all the time she was there.

There was a silence during which they sipped on their coffee.

"I propose that we see each other next week once I have the time to fully process the case so we can decide on a strategy." Elena finally talked looking straight at Logan Fell.

"Next Monday, should be fine. We will meet in my office."

Elena nodded a little overwhelmed by the fact that she would get to go to the Fell conglomerate building.

"It's okay for you Damon?" Logan Fell had taken over the conversation.

Damon looked at Elena quickly and seemed to ponder over his answer.

"It should be. I might have a couple of meeting that would need rescheduling but nothing impossible to be done."

"Great I'll let my assistant get in touch with yours."

He was about to rise from his chair when a new knock on her door stopped him.

Elijah was standing there with a smile on his face.

"Sorry to interrupt but we are going to be late for our lunch." He said his smile still on not looking at all sorry.

Elena was about to answer but Logan was quicker. She was starting to feel that he did not like to be told what to do.

"We were finished." He said with a grunt.

The two Fell stood up they proceeded with shaking Elena and Damon's hands. Meredith took Elena in her arm in a friendly gesture and murmured a "thank you" in her ear.

Elena was starting to like her. At first Meredith looked like another brainless rich girl but she could feel the smart caring young woman behind the facade. With a wave of the hand and a huge smile Meredith steeped out of her office.

"I like the girl." Logan Fell said patting Elijah on the shoulder. And with that he was gone like his daughter.

Elijah turned towards her with a knowing smile and proceeded to follow his guests.

After the Fells and Elijah had left for lunch, she was left with Damon on the doorstep of her office. He was already in the open space while she had remained in her office. He seemed deep in thoughts. She was about to close the door behind him when he suddenly turned back to her.

"We can have lunch together if you want?" Damon asked slowly. Was it a hint of awkwardness that she could hear in his voice? She just looked at him with big eyes.

He coughed. "Well, I thought we can discuss the case and I can feed you in all the basics about the Fell conglomerate."

His voice was insecure as if he was carefully pondering about his words.

"So you can start right away and be spared some time. And you can ask all the questions that you want!" he finished with a crooked grin.

Elena did not know how to answer. Normally she was going to lunch with Bonnie and April at the small café down the streets and the three girls would laugh about meaningless topic. Before she could say no she spotted Bonnie behind Damon nodding fiercely at her. Hopefully he could not see her as she was on his back. Else she would have been mortified.

"Okay" she croaked feeling uncomfortable. "Herr, let me take my coat and my purse and we can go."

Damon nodding and she almost could see relief wash over his face.

They had almost reached the elevator when they heard the voice of Katherine Pierce behind them.

"You're going to lunch?"

Elena turned around scowling to see Katherine coming toward them with a wide smile.

"Can I come?" she asked with a predatory smile.

Elena was at a loss to answer. Damon took the cue of her silence to answer.

"We were going to have a working lunch." He looked at Katherine's face that was not losing her smile. "To discuss the case."

Katherine did not show any passing emotion, her smile stayed on. She had finally reached them and she put her hand on Damon's arm in a flirting gesture.

"Well you can plan a meeting later this week, can't you?"

This time it was Damon that was at a loss to answer. He looked at Elena. Her face was a mix of emotion: disbelief, anger and another emotion he could not place.

As they were not answering, Katherine took the lead and forced Damon to enter the lift, his arms linked with hers. Having no choice, Elena followed them in the small squared room.

Bonnie's angry face was the only thing that Elena saw before the doors of the lift closed in front of her.

The rest of the day passed quickly as she immerged herself into the Fell's case. Lunch had been awkward as she had spent one hour looking at Katherine throwing herself at Damon and flirting with him all time asking a lot of personal questions. It did not deter her when Damon told her that he was married with children. It was as she was enjoying it even more. Elena was sure it was a good chase for her, being able to stick her claws in an unavailable man looked like a challenge she was more than willing to win. Elena had felt like she had been intruder all the time. Damon had been as embarrassed as she had been trying to pull the conversation out of his personal life but failing miserably. Katherine Pierce was a woman with a purpose and she could not be stopped.

When the lunch had been over, Elena had rushed to her office after promising Damon to see him on Friday to discuss the case. She had left the two together and had locked herself in her office for the rest of the day.

Soon the dark started to creep into her office and she was startled by the sudden lighting of her office.

Andrew was standing close to her door.

"I'm leaving but I thought you would need the light. You will hurt your eyes by reading in the dark." He said slowly.

"Shit. What time is it?" Elena asked a little frantically.

"Past seven."

Elena cringed. She had lost track of the time and she was really late to come home. Her mother in law was going to have a fit. She checked her phone and sure enough she had a couple of missed calls. She had put it on silent mode during the morning meeting and had forgotten to put it back on normal ringing mode.

She waved a goodbye at Andrew thanking him but his nice gesture and she started to gather her things to leave.

Her day had really been overwhelming and it was not finished yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long delay. Life caught up with me. I moved out and I don't have an Internet connection anymore. I borrowed one to post this chapter. I made it long to compensate.  
Hope you will like it.  
The puzzle is slowly starting to piece together. I'm dropping hints here and there and I just hope they are not too obvious.  
Still characters are not mine but the story is.  
Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

When Elena got home she was exhausted. The sun was already starting to set and there was still the cold breeze of the spring wind sending chills over her small frame. Her husband's car was not in their garage so she assumed that he was still in the office. However the shiny new black SUV of her in laws and the screeching voice coming from the kitchen anticipated what she already knew: her mother in law was there.

She slowly opened the front door. The corridor was dark but she could spot the light coming from the kitchen on her left. Laughing and cries of children could be heard from the closed door.

She put down her computer bag on the floor close to the console and she hung her light coat in the closet on her right. She slowly made her way to the kitchen bracing herself for the reproaching glare of her mother in law. She was supposed to be home almost two hours ago. Now it was eight and Emily must have had prepared dinner for her children.

Sure enough when she entered the kitchen, the three children were sitting around the table in their pyjamas finishing their yogurts. Emma was having cream all over her lips and looked like she was eating dessert with her nose. Maya was concentrating on her food carefully bringing her spoon to her mouth. Luke raised his head as soon as he heard the door opened and dropped everything to get out of his chair.

"Mummy" he cried running towards Elena.

Elena dropped on her knees and took her black haired six year old little boy in her arms.

"Hello sweetie. I'm home." She said with a smile.

He cuddled his mother with all the strength he could muster and Elena could feel the emotion bubbling in her chest. She swallowed and kissed her son on the forehead. When she raised her head she came across the icy glare of her mother in law. The woman said nothing but Elena could find the dislike deep rooted in Emily's eyes.

She sighed and chose to ignore the blatant reproach. The woman was always careful not to say anything in front of others, only choosing to berate Elena when there was no one in sight. The only exception was when she took it upon herself to come to Elena's office and complained in front of her colleagues.

Instead she turned towards her twin girls. Standing up she took Luke's hand and walked him up to the kitchen table when he resumed eating his dessert. Elena closed up to her daughters and kissed them both on the top of their head. The two girls waved at their mom but did not stop eating bringing a new smile on their mother's face at their behaviour. As much as her son looked like his father, except for his mother's brown eyes, the tow girls were spitting image of their mother except for their blue eyes that they took from their paternal grandmother.

"Now that your mom is finally there, I will head back home." Emily's voice was thick with something Elena could not exactly pinpoint but it sounded a lot like sarcasm. She kissed each of them and removed her apron before walking out of the kitchen.

"Elena, dear, you see me to the doors." She said with a fake smile when she reached the door of the Kitchen. It was not a question and Elena understood immediately that her day had taken a turn for the worse.

The old woman took her coat from the corridor closet and turned facing her daughter in law.

Elena squared her shoulders waiting for the blow to arrive. It did not take long.

Emily looked at her with unconcealed dislike and shook her head. When she addressed Elena, her voice was scolding and hard.

"So as you were late again, I bathed the children and prepared dinner for them. Luke did his homework but he will need to read a little bit more to gain confidence. In case you would be interested, they ate chicken breast with green bean and tomatoes. I cooked more so there would be enough to feed my son when he will come back home. Leftovers are in the fridge. I let you clean the kitchen after your kids. I think you can manage that though."

She did not have the courage to fight with her mother in law and just took whatever the old bat was throwing at her. She just nodded waiting for her to be done and over with. She just needed for her to be gone.

Emily must have sensed her mood because soon enough she stopped talking and left the house without a goodbye. Elena sighed relieved and locked the door behind her. She did not know when her husband would be home and she did not want to let the house opened in case she would be already asleep.

Sometimes she wondered if it would not be better to pay a babysitter to take care of her children after school. Her aunt Jenna had already proposed her some college kids from her husband's class that would be willing to earn some money by supervising kids after school. She had refused thinking that the children would be better off with their grandmother. And the help was free which was an additional benefit. Now she was starting to think otherwise.

When she came back in the kitchen, her children had finished eating the dessert. She hushed them upstairs to brush their teeth. Once they were reading to go to bed they started their bedtime tradition. Elena sat on her bed, her back on the black wood headboard. Maya laid down on her left Emma on her right and Luke sitting in front of her.

"It's Monday night so it is Luke's turn to choose the story." Elena turned toward her eldest.

"So what do you have behind your back?" she smiled as Luke handed her the book he was hiding.

It was Jack and the Beanstalk. Elena laughed. It was one of his favourite. He knew the story by heart but chose it regularly to be read by his mom nonetheless.

To avoid any fight about which story would be read before bed, Elena had divided the nights between her three kids by age order: Mondays & Thursdays to Luke, Tuesdays & Fridays to Maya, and Wednesdays & Saturdays to Emma. Sunday nights were Elena's choice or her husband's one when he was there.

Elena took the book and mentioned for him to come. Luke settled between his mother's legs his back on her front. Maya and Emma were having their right thumb in their mouth, clutching their mom's blouse.

Elena took a deep breath and started reading the story. She was tired but she tried her best to give life to the story of small Jack.

"Once upon a time there was a boy called Jack. He lived with his mother. They were very poor..."

Once the story was over, Elena noticed that her two baby girls were fast asleep. Luke faced her and with a smile she kissed him on the forehead.

"Go to your bed. I'll come and see you as soon as I've put your sisters to bed."

Luke nodded and after a kiss to both his sisters' cheek, he left his parent's room to reach his own.

Elena detached herself from her daughters' tight grasp and stood up. Taking them one by one, she carried them to the room the two girls shared on the other side of the stairs. With a kiss, she tucked them in and slowly closed the door leaving only the faint glow of the night-light in the bedroom.

She crossed the corridor to reach her son's room. Luke was already in his bed, under his Spiderman covers waiting for his mum. Elena reached her little boy and smoothed the cover on his small figure.

"Mum, I love you." Luke said with a sleepy voice.

"I love you too sweetheart." Elena answered before kissing him on the cheek.

"Good night my love. Sweet dreams" she said before standing up and turning off the light.

"Good night mummy."

When Elena closed the door behind her Luke was already sleeping.

Once again, her husband was not there to see their children before they went to bed.

When he finally got home a couple hours after, Elena was already in their bed waiting for the sleep to take over. He entered the room in silence using his phone to lighten the room.

"You're late." She murmured to him

"Sorry I did not want to wake you." He answered with an apologetic voice.

"I was not asleep yet. Your mom made food for you. It's in the fridge downstairs."

"I ate a takeaway in the office."

Elena felt the weight on the bed shift when her husband laid down carefully beside her. He approached her and soon she was encased in his warm, her back to his front.

"Sorry, I'm late" he murmured through her long dark locks.

She did not answer but snuggled more closely into his arms before sleep finally claimed her.

The week passed as a blur between her busy work time and her children. She did not even have time to get out for lunch with Bonnie and April and had to eat sandwiches in her office for a week. She had spent a day to hand over her current cases to Andrew, Katherine having bail out of her by saying that she was already overload. Luckily April had offered her services to Andrew to help him during those busy times. April was still young but Elena knew that her intern was having a great potential and that Andrew would be happy with her dedication. On top, Elena had to make sure to arrive home on time to avoid her mother in law sneaky comments. Adding to that that her husband never once came back home at a reasonable hour and Elena was glad that the week was almost over with. The only problem was that as Friday afternoon came so did her meeting with Damon Salvatore.

Bonnie had buzzed with excitement all morning and as the meeting hour became closer, she was starting to annoy Elena. Elena had sent her to buy her some lunch and when Bonnie had appeared with a chicken salad and an apple with a knowing smirk, Elena had fought her desire to throttle her. Bonnie was the best person she knew but she really could be a pain in the ass when she meddled in other's business. And Elena had a sickening feeling that Bonnie wanted to meddle in her business with Damon.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming call from Bonnie. Sighing, Elena pushed the button.

"Yes, she said.

"Mr Salvatore is downstairs at the reception, came the excited voice of her assistant.

"Tell him to come up and bring him to my office." was her final answer before turning off the phone.

She had a couple minutes left to finish her apple and clean her desk from the remaining trace of her lunch.

Soon enough she heard a knock on her door and Bonnie's face appeared behind it. She winked before opening wide the door to let Damon Salvatore walked in. Elena stood up from her chair and came to him extended her hand for him to shake.

"Sorry to interrupt" he said with a smirk pointing at the apple core that was still in her left hand. Elena felt the blush creeping out on her face but she just shrugged trying to play it down as if nothing fazed her and especially not him.

She mentioned for him to sit down in the chair facing her desk before coming back to her seat throwing her apple in the bin in the process.

"I've just finished" she answered casually before sitting down as well.

She opened the drawer behind her and pulled out the big Fell's case before putting it down between them.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" she asked after clearing her throat.

"Go ahead?" he said mentioning with his hand for her to take control of their meeting.

"Well, I've read the whole file and I think I found the angle we should go at." She said looking him straight in the eyes.

His eyebrows slightly pulled up and his smirk came back. She tried not to be bothered by the intensity of his stare but found it difficult to remained unfazed in front of this damn man. Damon Salvatore screamed sexiness and she struggled to regain her countenance forcing down the blush that threatened to appear. She had to remember that this was business and there was no way in hell she would make it something else.

"I'm all ears." He said with a teasing voice.

God she hated that sound. She remembered how it made her feel back from the time they were at school. She sighed.

"Listen, Damon. We have to work together on this case. I would like for us to remain professional. It is not about us. I want to win and I will not be able to that if you don't take it as seriously as I want you to. Do we have a deal?" she asked trying to smooth the pleading tone of her voice.

"Your call." He shrugged but she could see his face turning serious. She nodded. At least, he seemed to understand her point of view.

"Ok. I want to go on the family angle with this case."

She saw him opening his mouth to voice his disagreement. After all these years, she could still read him easily. She stopped him before he could utter a word.

"I know that this has a strong link to the Fell conglomerate. But we are dealing here with baby custody. We will be facing a family court judge that does not give a damn about companies. I do not want for the judge to think that we only care about the future of a company. We have to make him understand that the best option for Logan Mason Lockwood Fell is to be with his mother. The link to his grandfather's business will just be the icing on the cake."

Understanding fell on his face and the look he sent her way resembled somewhat pride.

"So how do you want us to proceed?" he asked.

"I want you to let me lead the way." He nodded. "I want to put Meredith Fell in the front line. Let the judge see that she is a great mother and that her son would be better taken care of by his mother than his grandparents. And most of all, I want you to refrain Meredith's father from putting his business first."

Damon studied her carefully and she shifted awkwardly on her seat under his scrutinizing gaze.

"Are you scared of Logan Fell?" he asked with a chuckle, the smirk back on his face.

For the third time in less than an hour she could fell the blush reappearing on her face. God what was with this man so that he could make lose her countenance like that!

"I'm not!" she exclaimed a little too quickly.

The smile on his face told her that he did not buy her lie but she decided not to dwell on that.

"You're his trusty lawyer so if it comes from you he will be more inclined to listen."

Damon nodded the smile still on his face.

Elena opened the file and offered him the Lockwood's statement with which they filed their plea.

"We should have a look on what the other party says so we can counteract everything."

Damon nodded and they both came closer to the desk their heads almost touching as they read together.

"I think we should call it a day." Damon said before stretching on his chair.

Elena's head rose from the paper she was reading. She looked at the small clock on her desk. It showed five pm. They had spent more time than anticipated but they had managed to clear up a good amount of work.

"I think you're right." She straightened her posture on her chair but a jolt of pain rushed through her spine. She grimaced.

"You're okay?" Damon asked with concern.

"I'm fine"

His eyebrows shot in his hair.

"I swear, just a little stiffness. I've been bending over the desk for too long."

"You want a massage? I have been told that I'm an expert with my hands."

His tone was playful but Elena shot him a disapproving glare. He shot his hands in the air.

"Just proposing my help to a co-worker in need. That's all."

"That would not be necessary." She finally said a little bit coldly refusing to acknowledge his previous statement. With him better not start a playful banter he would easily overpower her and she was not sure she wanted to be put in that situation in her office.

She reached for the notepad that was in front of her and ripped the ten pages worth of notes they had taking during the past three hours. They had had a small fight on who would be the one taking notes, nobody wanting to be the one doing it. But when Elena had seen the unreadable mess Damon had called writing she had finally settled into doing it. The smirk Damon had shot her had made her question if she had not been manipulated into volunteering.

"I think we are settled for next Monday meeting."

Damon nodded.

"I'll ask Bonnie to scan the notes and send them to you so you can have a look at them on Monday morning if you want."

She rose from her chair and Damon followed. They had reached her door when he turned towards her.

"I'll come and picked you up on Monday at noon. So we can have lunch together and we'll drive together to Logan's office." He said and with a moment of silence he added "If that is fine by you I mean."

She nodded and opened the door.

They both entered the open space. Upon seeing them Bonnie jumped from her chair and came to meet them. Elena handed her the notes she had still with her.

"Can you scan the pages and send them to Damon's email address, please?"

Bonnie nodded taking the papers with her right hands.

"You have my email?" Damon asked and Bonnie shook her head.

"You will find his email in the company database." Elena said looking at them if they were stupid. They may not be working in the same offices but they were from the same company which means shared directory list.

Damon reached for his wallet safely hidden in the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small white rectangular card.

"No need. Here is my business card. You'll have my contact easier that way."

Bonnie came closer to him and took the card he was offering.

"My mobile number is on the back." He added with a velvety voice and a wink when she was close enough.

Bonnie looked at him, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red. Elena rolled her eyes.

Elena looked at Bonnie expecting her to dismiss herself so she can walk Damon to the lift and be done with him and her day. But the young brunette seemed to be thinking about something as her hands crushed the paper to her front and she kept switching her weight from one foot to the other. However before she could say anything her assistant resolved whatever dilemma she was pondering and opened her mouth to ask the worst thing she could ask.

"Hum, on Fridays we are going for a drink after work. Do you want to come with us?"

Elena would have shaken her friend to make her come back to her senses if she was not frozen to her spot. She just settled into opening her eyes wide. Was she crazy? This was their traditional Friday girl evening. Bonnie, April, Marina, Elena, Marina's assistant Penny and sometimes Katherine were going to the pub a couple of streets away to grab a drink and chilled out before the start of the weekend. Most of the time, the female lawyers from the District Attorney offices down the street would join them as well. It had become such a ritual that the owner of the pub had created the 'women out night' with beers at half the price for women from 5 to 8pm on Fridays.

And now Bonnie wanted to propose to a man to join them! And Damon of all people! She was such a sucker for good looks.

Damon turned his head toward Elena and remained silent for a moment pondering his answer. Her look must have made an impression on him because he turned back towards Bonnie and shook his head.

"It would have been with pleasure ladies but I need to go back to my office. I still have some work to finish." Damon answered with a dazzling smile.

If Elena did not know better, she would have said that he was flirting.

He took Bonnie's right hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Bonnie giggled and Elena rolled her eyes once again. Damon looked at Elena and winked, his smile never leaving his face.

Okay that was blatant flirting. Seeing Bonnie's reaction, Elena knew she would never hear the end of it. What was wrong with him? Okay she knew what was wrong. Damon had always been a lady's man. And by the look of it, he still was. But he was married for good sake!

"Ladies, it had been a pleasure but I'm afraid I need to head back to my office." He bowed in a mock 17th century style before straightening his posture and walking towards the elevator.

And Bonnie giggled. Bonnie giggled! This was getting weirder by the minute.

Elena stood where she was, watching him disappear behind the closing doors of the lift. She could not figure this man out. Was he always like that at work or was he just playing with her?

The two women stayed standing without moving for a minutes until Marina Gonzales came out of her office shouting.

"Girls we are leaving in thirty minutes. I so need a beer!"

Elena and Bonnie jumped startled out of their thoughts. Bonnie left hurriedly to do the scan and email Damon while Elena looked at her co-worker.

"Rough day, huh?" Elena said eyeing her

Marina's short black hair were pointing in all directions the as if she had pulled at them all through the day. Her very intense black eyes were still intimidating but the dark rings under them were somehow softening their stance. Her normally rich caramel coloured skin was looking a little bit grey and she looked utterly spent.

"Don't tell me about it!" Marina exclaimed "and then I will go back home to a husband thinking that because he has a Y chromosome he has the right to forgot where the kitchen is. I swear, we, women have the worst side of the gender coin."

After this outburst she rushed back to her office. Elena smiled. Tired or not Marina was still a very energetic woman. Elena followed her cue and went to her office.

She spent the next couple of minutes putting her desk in order, the Fell's case file back in the drawer. When she came out with her computer bag, her jacket on her arm the girls were already waiting for her ready to enjoy the start of the weekend.

This evening, it was only Bonnie, April, Marina and Elena. Katherine had bailed out a couple of hours ago saying that she was having a date and would need her time to prepare. Penny was on maternity leave and would not be back until the following month.

The four women waved at Liv Parker who was the usual bartender on Friday nights before choosing a high table at the back with four stools. Elena went to the bar to order the first round of beers, her treat. When she came back the three others were already engrossed in conversation about the following office seminar.

"I can't believe next week it's already the time for the Mikaelson & Partners' weekend getaway" Bonnie exclaimed excitedly.

"I know" Marina sighed. "It feels like the last one was just last month. Times go by too quickly."

Elena dropped the bears on the table and the three girls murmured their thanks.

"To us" Elena said waving her beer for the other girls to cling.

They took a sip of their drinks before putting their glasses back on the table.

"I so needed it" Marina sighed having almost drained half of her pint in one go.

"I can see that" Elena laughed mentioning the almost half empty glass in front of her friend and colleagues. "Tough day huh"

"You have no idea" the older woman answered. "I'm working a case where because the husband is rich and have a big shot old macho lawyer he thinks he can deny is wife's rights as a mother of their two kids after they divorced."

Elena patted her friend's back.

"Well I'm here to cheer up so change of topic please" Marina finally pleaded.

Bonnie suddenly looked at Elena with a weird face and she was afraid what the change of subject would be but April cut in.

"What is this Mikaelson & Partners' weekend getaway anyway?" she asked. Elena was glad for her intern's choice of topic. She had just started her internship in September and was not there yet for the last seminar.

"It's a sort of seminar with all the employees of the firm" Elena answered. "The bosses book a hotel somewhere for the weekend and gather everyone there. We listen to conferences and do games in teams. It's mostly team building."

"Everyone is going?" April asked. The three girls nodded.

"It's the only time of the year we can really meet the other lawyers of the firm." Bonnie said conspiratorially.

"And you're all going?" April asked eagerly.

"Yeah" Elena answered somewhat reluctantly.

"No. You're coming" Bonnie interrupted. "You have not been coming in years. You promised me that your husband will take care of the kids for once."

"Yeah I know but..." Elena started but was interrupted once again by her assistant.

"I don't want to hear a 'but'. Last year it was a shame you did not come. Elijah was not overly happy about it. If you want to be a partner one day you need to attend those events."

Elena nodded. She knew that of course but it was kind of difficult to let her children even for a weekend. Since the birth of the twin she had always managed to have an excuse not to go.

"On the plus side you will be able to meet the employees of the Business branch. There are a lot of new persons you did not know. What was the last time you came? It was like what six years ago?"

"Four. Last time I was pregnant with the twins." Elena answered sheepishly.

"Come on you're working with Damon Salvatore and you acted like you don't know him. He has been working for the firm for as long as I can remember. I'm sure you met him during one of the events in the past yet you barely recognised him."

"I told you I'm coming" Elena cut in somewhat pissed. The bringing of Damon's name was raising her temper.

"You better." Bonnie said finally. She seemed to ponder over something and then her head dropped towards the table beckoning the three other girls to come closer. "I should ask Damon if he's coming as well. It would be nice to see him out of work. I bet he looks as jaw dropping in a jean and t-shirt as he does in a suit."

Elena frowned. The conversation was not going in a way she wanted to. She was hoping she could escape the topic of her handsome co-worker but Bonnie seemed to have been waiting for this topic to pop up. She was due for a good explanation.

"Bonnie, he is a married man. You can't fantasy on a married man." She chastised her assistant with a stern voice.

"I'm not saying that for me. I'm saying that for you!" Bonnie said with a conspiracy voice

Elena looked at her as she had grown up two heads.

"Of come on Elena, I've seen the way he is acting with you. He is always playfully flirting with us but when he's doing it with you there is always a tender side."

April nodded confirming Bonnie's thoughts and Marina raised her eyebrow in amusement.

"And you know that because..." Elena said shaking her head.

"I have been looking at him. Come on, Elena, I'm sure he has a thing for you. He is always following you around with his eyes. Even Katherine blatant flirting does not faze him. I'm sure if you were to ask him to go out outside the office he will agree."

Elena was starting to shift awkwardly on her stool. This conversation was definitively putting her on edge.

"I'm serious Elena. You're always working and taking care of your children. You should have some fun in life, live a little."

"By cheating on my husband" she exclaimed incredulously. "I'm sure Elijah would be delighted. We have a 'no dating co-worker policy' remember?" She had a smile on her lips that did not quite reach her eyes but Bonnie missed it and just shrugged.

"You're married to a ghost. He is always working, not coming home before sunset on weekdays, missing on weekends. When was the last time you had a moment alone with your husband? For what we know he might have a mistress somewhere."

"Bonnie stopped". Elena said between gritted teeth feeling the anger rose.

Marina sighed. What a nice way to chill out after a tough day! It was like watching her two teenage daughters fought over who should take the curling iron first.

"Girls let not finish this evening with a fight." Marina's voice interrupted the two girls as they kept glaring at one other. Putting her right hands on Bonnie's shoulder and her left one of Elena's right hand that was still on the table, she addressed the two with her lawyer firm no bullshit voice.

"Bonnie, this is not very clever to throw a married man into the arms of a married woman. Elena can take care of herself. You know the company rule we cannot date co-workers so what you propose on top of being morally questionable might also cost Elena her job. Now you should apologise."

Bonnie nodded. She looked at Elena with a sad smile: "I'm sorry"

Marina smiled and squeezed Bonnie's shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Elena, Bonnie was only expressing concern, albeit a little insensitively. But she was looking after you. Don't let that silly talk tarnish your friendship.

"I'm sorry" Elena whispered her eyes still glued to her drink in front of her.

"Who wants another beer?" April cut in trying to diffuse the tenseness that had settled at their table.

"I'll have one." Bonnie answered.

April looked at Elena.

"I think I'm going home. I'm not in the mood for a drink anymore." She said standing from her stool grabbing her jacket and bag.

"Elena, I..." Bonnie started but she was interrupted when Elena raised her hand.

"No, I just need to cool down. I'll see you all on Monday. Have a nice weekend."

"Likewise" Marina said as Elena left the table and walked to the door gesturing goodbye to Liv that was tending the bar.

When she reached home she had a text message blinking on her phone: "Don't wait for me tonight I have a working diner. See you later."

She felt the tears pricked at her eyes. Bonnie's earlier words came back with a rush to her mind: "When was the last time you had a moment alone with your husband?"

Yes when was the last time? She had the question but she was not sure she had the answer.


End file.
